Method for generating location targeted, keyword-triggered, ads and generating user recallable layer-based ads

• US 9,069,866 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Ohazama, Chikai J., Sacks, Joshua, Chen, Chia-Nee Michelle, Mavinkurve, Sanjay Gajanan, Charaniya, Amin P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ortiz Ditren, Belix M
• Application Number:
  US13/613,239
• Publication Number:
  US 20130132396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• Field of Search: 707/724, 707/743, 707/754, 707/756
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

Location-specific content is automatically generated for a particular entity having a plurality of physical locations. Database entries that contain identifying data associated with the particular entity are searched for to obtain location information of each of the plurality of physical locations. The location information, in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity, is stored in a computer-readable electronic database such that a user-generated query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location causes a processor to execute operations that initiates a search of the computer-readable electronic database for the location information of the physical locations that are in proximity to the search location. At least one result that is displayable to the user is provided.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method comprising:

retrieving, with one or more computing devices, from a computer-readable electronic database, a name of a particular entity having a plurality of physical locations;

searching outside of the computer-readable electronic database, with one or more computing devices, for data that contains the name of the particular entity and that contains a business address of one of the plurality of physical locations of the particular entity, by comparing the name of the particular entity to the data outside of the computer-readable electronic database, in order to obtain the business address of each of the plurality of physical locations;

determining, with the one or more computing devices, the business address of each of the plurality of physical locations for the particular entity from the data outside of the computer-readable electronic database;

storing, with one or more computing devices, in the computer-readable electronic database, the business address of each of the plurality of physical locations in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity such that a user-generated query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location causes the one or more computing devices to execute operations that initiates a search of the computer-readable electronic database for the business addresses of the physical locations that are in proximity to the search location; and

providing, with the one or more computing devices, at least one result that is displayable to the user.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

searching for the database entries that contain a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the particular entity and that contain the business address of one of the plurality of physical locations of the particular entity to obtain the business address of each of the plurality of physical locations.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the searching includes searching within on-line content associated with the particular entity by matching the name of the particular entity to text of the on-line content.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the searching searches at least one of a business listing data feed, a web site, or a data file.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the storing includes storing one or more details relating to each physical location, and the details relating to a given physical location are selected from the group consisting of a photograph of that physical location, hours of operation for that physical location, a telephone number of that physical location, a URL of a web site for that physical location, and an icon indicating an attribute for that physical location.

6. A computer implemented method comprising:

searching content comprising text to determine location information for each of a plurality of physical locations of a particular entity by comparing a name of the particular entity to the text of the content;

determining the location information for each of the plurality of physical locations for the particular entity from the text of the content;

storing, in a database, the location information of each of the plurality of physical locations in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity;

receiving, over a network from a user terminal, a user-entered query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location;

searching the database for the location information of at least some of the plurality of physical locations that are in proximity to the search location;

generating a map of a region that includes the search location;

generating an overlying layer for the map, the overlying layer including one or more markers that are positioned to overlay the map at the at least some of the plurality of the physical locations that are located within the region;

generating a list of the at least some of the plurality of the physical locations that are located within the map region, the list including the name of the particular entity and one or more details relating to each of the at least some of the plurality of physical locations that are within the region; and

transmitting at least the map together with the list over the network to the user terminal for display on a display screen, the map and the list being initially shown concurrently at different regions of the display screen.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more markers of the overlying layer are icons associated with the particular entity or are favicons associated with a web site of the particular entity.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the transmitting step includes transmitting the overlying layer together with the map such that the map and the overlying layer are initially shown concurrently on the display screen.

9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising providing, on the display screen, a user interface element that can be activated to turn on or off the displaying of the overlying layer.

10. The method according to claim 6, further comprising generating content for the particular entity, and wherein the transmitting step includes transmitting the content together with the map such that the map and the content are shown concurrently at different regions of the display screen.

11. The method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more details relating to each of the at least some of the plurality of physical locations included in the list are selected from the group consisting of the address of that physical location, a photograph of that physical location, hours of operation for that physical location, a telephone number of that physical location, a URL of a web site for that physical location, and an icon indicating an attribute for that physical location.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein each of the markers of the overlying layer is unique to that physical location, and the list of the physical locations includes, for each physical location, the marker that overlies that physical location.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

generating a further overlying layer that includes at least part of the list, and

providing, on the display screen together with the map, a user interface element that is selectable to turn on the displaying of the further overlying layer, the further overlying layer obscuring at least part of the map.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

providing, on the display screen together with the further overlying layer, a user interface element that is selectable to turn off the displaying of the further overlying layer.

15. A system comprising:

a memory that is configured to store a computer-readable electronic database;

a processor that is configured to search for data outside of the computer-readable database that contains identifying data associated with a particular entity and that contains location information of one of a plurality of physical locations of the particular entity to obtain the location information of each of the plurality of physical locations, to determine the location information of each of the plurality of physical locations for the particular entity, and to store, in the computer-readable electronic database, the location information in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity such that a user-generated query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location causes a processor to execute operations that initiates a search of the computer-readable electronic database for the location information of the physical locations that are in proximity to the search location, and to provide at least one result that is displayable to the user.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the identifier comprises a name of the particular entity or a uniform resource locator (URL) of a web site associated with the particular entity.

17. The system according to claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to search within on-line content associated with the particular entity by matching identifying data contained within the on-line content to identical data contained within the entries.

18. The system according to claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to search at least one of a business listing data feed, a web site, or a data file.

19. The system according to claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to store in the memory one or more details relating to each physical location, and the details relating to a given physical location are selected from the group consisting of a photograph of that physical location, hours of operation for that physical location, a telephone number of that physical location, a URL of a web site for that physical location, and an icon indicating an attribute for that physical location.

20. A system comprising:

a server, including;

a memory that is configured to store a computer-readable electronic database, and

a processor that is configured to search content to determine location information for each of a plurality of physical locations of a particular entity by comparing an identifier associated with the particular entity to the content, to determine the location information for each of the plurality of physical locations for the particular entity from the content, to store, in the database, the location information of each of the plurality of physical locations in correlation with one or more keywords associated with the particular entity, to receive, over a network from a user terminal, a user-entered query that includes at least one of the keywords and a search location, to search the database for location information of the physical locations that are in proximity to the search location, to generate a map of a region that includes the search location, to generate an overlying layer for the map, the overlying layer including one or more markers that are positioned to overlay the map at the physical locations that are located within the map region, to generate a further overlying layer that includes a list of the physical locations that are located within the map region, the further overlying layer obscuring at least a portion of the map, and to transmit at least the map and a user interface element over the network to the user terminal for display on a display screen, the user interface element being configured to toggle a display of the further overlying layer that includes the list of the physical locations that are located within the map region.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the one or more markers of the overlying layer are icons associated with the particular entity or are favicons associated with a web site of the particular entity.

22. The system according to claim 20, wherein the processor is configured to transmit the overlying layer together with the map such that the map and the overlying layer are initially shown concurrently on the display screen.

23. The system according to claim 20, wherein the processor is configured to transmit to the user terminal, for display on the display screen, a user interface element that can turn on or off the displaying of the overlying layer.

24. The system according to claim 20, wherein the processor is configured to generate content for the particular entity, and wherein transmitting includes transmitting the content together with the map such that the map and the content are shown concurrently at different regions of the display screen.

25. The system according to claim 20, the processor is further configured to generate the list of the physical locations that are located within the map region, the list including one or more details relating to each listed physical location which are selected from the group consisting of the address of that physical location, a photograph of that physical location, hours of operation for that physical location, a telephone number of that physical location, a URL of a web site for that physical location, and an icon indicating an attribute for that physical location.

26. The system according to claim 25, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the list together with the map such that the map and the list are initially shown concurrently at different regions of the display screen.

27. The system according to claim 25, wherein each of the markers of the overlying layer is unique to that physical location, and the list of the physical locations includes, for each physical location, the marker that overlies that physical location.

28. The system according to claim 25, wherein the processor is further configured to provide to the user terminal, for display on the display screen together with the map, a separate user interface element that can turn on the displaying of the further overlying layer.

29. The system according to claim 28, wherein the processor is further configured to provide to the user terminal, for display on the display screen together with the further overlying layer, another separate user interface element that can turn off the displaying of the further overlying layer.